Collide
by nurrrna
Summary: Does love come from within, or is it only skin deep? Tenten loses her memory, and Neji has to think long and hard about it. NejiTen
1. Chapter 1

Hey, peoples! I am so very sorry I released this late. I said a couple of days, but it turned into a week . I hope you forgive me : And wouldn't let me upload any of my documents! I was seriously going to cry : Well, I'm just in the process of starting this out, I know the bare outline of it, but the details so far are vague inside my brain. I'll probably have the next one up in two days at most (I'm serious this time!) Without further ado:

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nope. Not even the whiskers.**

Chapter One: It all started with…

"This is a kunai. You hold it like this. Now, throw it. Aim for that target."

Tenten bit the inside of her cheek in concentration and threw the kunai. It missed the target by a whole tree." Neji looked at the tree miserably.

"Um…Neji, right? Are you sure I specialized in flinging these things?"

"Almost 100 accuracy." Tenten sighed. She threw another kunai as hard as she could and plopped down onto the floor. "Come on, let's try again. It'll all come back to you." Tenten grumbled. This whole 'ninja' business was no fun. Was this what all girls her age did?

"Um…Neji…why don't we take a break?" Neji looked away and leaned against a tree. He looked deeply hurt. What was this dude's deal anyway? I mean, sure, she wasn't too thrilled about learning this stuff. But why was it so important anyway? She'd get it when she got it. As far as her knowledge on ninja-ing went, it was just a job.

Neji ran his fingers over a very battered old shuriken that had many nicks in it. And many memories.

Flashback 

"_Your aim is off."_

_The small white-eyed boy looked over at the bun-haired girl who as walking over to him, arms behind her head._ _He shrugged and looked away. What did some stupid little girl know anyway? Didn't those people get it that he liked his alone time?_

_She walked in the middle of the nine targets, reached into her pockets, and threw nine shurikens. Each one of them hit the targets dead center. Neji's arrogant thoughts subsided as his face took on a look of surprise. _

"_How did you do that?"_

_She walked over to him, placed her hands on his arms, and repositioned them. He stared at her, wide-eyed. She smirked casually. "The position of your hands is throwing off the angle of your aim." He nodded as she continued to give him pointers on throwing shurikens. By the end of the day, he was able to hit all nine targets._

"_How did you learn to throw shurikens like that?"_

"_I've just always had a natural talent for them. You're a Hyuga, right?" She pointed at his eyes. He nodded somewhat reluctantly. "I thought Hyuga kids weren't allowed to train outside."_

"_No...that's only the main house. I'm just a branch house member. I can go outside. It doesn't matter." Tenten shrugged. She was never one for politics. But whatever that meant, it must mean a lot to him, because that was the most words he'd said all say. _

"_Are you going to start at the academy tomorrow?" Again, he nodded. Tenten made a mental note to herself: The boy likes to nod._

"So am I! I'll see you tomorrow then." She waved as she turned around and walked away. Neji stared at her retreating figure, with the expression of a person that just got mugged, until she disappeared from sight.

End Flashback 

Neji looked at the girl sitting in the grass, hands tucked under her knees. Was this the Tenten he had grown up with? Or was in someone else, temporarily residing in her body? Her long, tawny hair swayed around her back with the light breeze. She looked nice with her hair down, but what happened to her buns? She always wore buns; half the population of Konoha knew her as "that one bun-haired chick with the needles."

Neji carefully tucked the shuriken inside his pockets and walked over to her. He sat down and carefully looked at her. She had Tenten's face, but there were lines of fatigue drawn all over her usually smooth, relaxed face.

Tenten gulped. She felt something tugging at her every time he looked into her eyes. Was it fear? Uneasiness? Confusion? Comfort? She couldn't tell. She felt so…detached from her mind.

She cleared her throat. "So tell me…what do I like to do in my spare time?"

"You like to sharpen your weapons, train, fortune telling."

Tenten felt an emptiness creep inside of her stomach. None of these words invoked any kind of emotions inside of her. "My friends?"

"Lee, Gai-sensei, Sakura, Ino, Hinata-sama, all of the other rookies."

"Sakura…the one with pink hair?" Neji nodded.

"Then…what are you?" Neji looked taken aback. She started flailing her arms around In front of her. "N-No! That's not what I meant. It's just that…"

"…Well, I don't remember you or anything." Her words cut at him, leaving behind a stinging pain. "But…I can't help but get a feeling that…you're important to me."

The pain stopped, but he could still feel the sting. Was this the way it would be for the rest of their lives? Him trying to recreate the Tenten he knew, and her, trying to become someone she doesn't remember?

"I just…sometimes…I don't know what I should do. What if I do something that I usually wouldn't do? What if I act a certain way that I'm not supposed to?"

So that explained her bland, passive behavior. Tenten was normally energetic; she didn't talk much, but she was always moving. He looked the other way, staring at the leaves slowly falling from a tree.

"We've been teammates since we graduated from academy. You've…always been there." "_Until now…"_ Neji quickly took back his thoughts. It wasn't her fault, after all. She was trying; only time would heal her. The question was…how much time?

"Tell me something. Something funny that happened."

Flashback 

"_AND NOW, MY NO LONGER PUPILS, YOU HAVE SHED YOUR CACOONS OF THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH, AND NOW EMERGE ARE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES!"_

_Tenten smashed her cup under her fist. If he said "springtime" or "youth" one more time, Konoha would have one less a green, prancing freak to worry about. Neji's eyebrow was twitching so fast that you couldn't see it twitch._

_Gai swaggered around. He reached for his 87473875th bottle of sake, too drunk to notice that Tenten had already replaced the rest of the sake with milk. _

_He brought up a glass of sake to make yet another toast. _

_Tenten pressed her hand against her forehead. "Toast number fourty-six…"_

"_IN THE WORLD OF A JOUNIN, THERE IS NO MORE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH. YOU WILL FEND FOR YOURSELF AGAINST THE TYRANNY OF THOSE WHO WISH TO DIMINSH YOUR BURNING FLAMES OF LIFE!"_

Neji took another big sip from his bottle and inhaled sharply. He tapped tenten on the shoulder and whispered something into her ear. Something about "…ditch…migraine…Ichiraku." Tenten nodded.

"_Hey! You guys, how about some karaoke!"_

"_Oooo!" Gai and Lee ran up to the karaoke stand. Tenten shook her head. Those poor innocent civilians…_

_While they were busy 'getting their groove on' with the karaoke, Neji and Tenten called upon all the stealth they had learned in their ninja careers and slipped out of the bar. They made a run for it to the nearby ramen stand."_

_End Flashback_

Tenten laughed softly, covering her mouth. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes…unfortunately."

"Wow…it must've been very funny."

"Torture is the more appropriate word." She smiled a little and looked at the unfamiliar pale, white-eyed man in front of her. She didn't think she would be the kind of girl who liked the strong, silent, manly men.

Neji shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Her cheeks were tinted a pale pink as she turned away and played fumbled around with a flower that was beside her foot.

"Did I like flowers?"

Neji winced slightly at the excitement in her voice. "Well…you said they were impractical." She deflated a little, before picking herself up.

"I see…Ino, she is the flower shop girl, right? With blond hair?"

"Yes."

"Hinata…she's your cousin, the quiet one?" he nodded again. "They don't know, yet?"

"Yes."

"How did they find out?"

"They all know you very well. Only a fool wouldn't be able to tell."

She looked depressed as she started plucking the petals off of the flower. Was he always like this, or is he just being mean? In a matter of seconds, the flower was reduced to confetti. What was the point if she didn't like flowers anyway? She let the shredded petals scatter in the winds…

She stood up and brushed the grass from her knees. "I'm ready. Let's try again."

Neji let out a sigh of momentary relief. He stood behind her and very carefully, very gently, placed his hands on hers, positioning them to increase her accuracy. Memories of the day he first met Tenten, with her aiding him in throwing shurikens, flooded into his head and flashed before his eyes. He laughed bitterly at the irony of it all; it all started with a shuriken…

I'm guessing this fic will be longer than my last one. Thanks to all who gave me encouragement and support! Please review, make my day : Thanks for waiting. For being s darn nice, I'll release the next chapter today as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Just to avoid confusion, this whole chapter is a flashback. I thought it would be too redundant if I did the whole thing in italics, so yah. Just thought I'd get that out of the way.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter Two: Drowning 

Neji paced his room for the millionth time. This wasn't right. She should be here by now. Why wasn't she here?

Lee looked down at his watch. "If she doesn't come to the rendezvous point in another twenty minutes, we have to search for her." Neji shoved his fist in his mouth to keep from screaming.

The twenty minutes went by with a brutal slowness. Every second lingered, caught between his breaths. Every passing minute seemed like an hour; the seconds stabbed at him. His anxiety fused with the already panicking sensation in his head.

"It's been…two hours." At the magic words, Neji took off. Gai headed towards the east, Lee headed towards the west, and Shino searched the north. As for Neji…well, let's just say he was covering _all_ directions.

"_You better not be dead…_" That lasting train of thought kept his sanity at a functioning level. He was thinking solely of one thing as he rampaged throughout the trees and demolished everything that blocked his path: _"Where is she?"_ He searched everywhere, even under small piles of twigs and leaves that were too impossibly small for a human to hide under. Neji fell over, exhaustion finally catching up with him. He dragged himself, scouring through anything that even remotely resembled any part of a human.

Neji began to lose heart after hours of unsuccessful searching. The twigs that snapped under his legs as he dragged himself along scrapped at his legs and arms. The bloody trail he left behind meandered into a serpent-like curve. Lee ran up to Neji, and tried to put his arm under Neji's shoulders. Neji pushed it away and continued searching.

"Neji…we have to go back. It was Tsunade-sama's orders." He shook his head silently and went along. "Neji, the anbu will find her."

Memories of training together, sitting together, laughing together (well, Tenten laughing while Neji stood there) filled in his slowly fading will.

"No…" His voice was hoarse and little more than a whisper. "No…I'll find her." Lee sighed a little and continued to walk behind Neji, making sure he didn't pass out. A minute passed. Then two. Then three. Then thirty. "Neji..we have to go." The hint of remorse in Lee's voice convinced Neji that, as much as he hated it, Lee was right. They just had to hope that the anbu would find her in time.

"Wait…just let me check that pile of twigs." Neji slowly got up and walked over to the pile of twigs. Nothing, just as he had expected, like the other 1000 times he had checked. He began to sink in a state of inferiority when he spotted something brown and very familiar looking among the twigs, almost trying to blend in. The moon faintly illuminated a small, pink ribbon. He reached for it with a shaky hand.

The soft dampness he felt made him abandon all the doubt that had filled his mind. With the last trace of energy he could gather, he tore through the twigs and unearthed what he had so desperately searched for. He latched onto her hand as he passed out beside her.

"_I'm burning! Does this mean I'm in hell?"_

Tenten opened her crusty eyes and examined her surroundings. Er…rather, she felt them. She could feel two strong arms wrapped protectively around her. _"Who on earth is this man…or, better yet…"_ Tenten jumped out of bed and twisted out of the stranger's grasp. Without his warmth, she felt cold and stifled a shiver. _"…Who am I?"_ She stumbled over to the mirror.

"Nothing…" The reflection in the mirror sparked no memories in her. Tears of confusion poured out of her eyes. She crawled over to a corner and brought her knees to her chest, lying on her side. She rocked back and forth, searching for something, _anything_, that gave her a sense of existence.

Neji got up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was wide-awake when he saw Tenten, huddled in a corner, crying. He went over to her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She wrenched away from him and ran to the opposite corner. With every step he took, he pressed herself farther against the wall. When he was only a few inches away from her, she was completely flattened against the wall.

An aftershock of tears gushed out. She shook a little as the teardrops hit the floor. Time stood still; she looked at the strange man who was in front of her. _"A lover? Family member, close friend, enemy? Anything at all?" _Silence resounded inside of her. She hungered for knowledge that would satisfy her empty insides.

"W-Who…am I?" her voice sounded foreign to her. Realization hit Neji in his vital points. His shaking hand reached up and gently touched her cheek. Her eyes were empty.

"You really don't know…" She bit her lower lit and shook her head. "Nothing? About why you never made it back, what happened last night, or even…"

Flashback 

_As Neji reached a clearing of trees, he saw her lying in the grass, with her hands behind her head as usual. She had a blue baseball cap on. She was softly humming a song he didn't recognize. It sounded sad._

"_You didn't show up."_

_She waved one of her hands dismissively. "Yah."_

_Neji's eyebrows floated to his hairline. "Why?"_

_She deflated slightly as a loud sigh escaped her. "…Because."_

"…"

_She jumped to her feet and puffed up angrily. "Fine! I didn't come because I didn't feel like it! I'm not having a good ha-I mean, I'm just not having a good day! Okay?"_

"…_What with the hat?"_

"_What? Now I can't wear hats anymore? What's with the questions!"_

"_It looks weird. You look like a boy."_

"_Well, maybe I am a boy."_

_Neji sighed. He hated when she was in her 'angry' moods. He stood tall and started to walk away, slowly. "Fine, I'm going."_

"_Good." She was confused and, maybe even, disappointed. He was giving up so easily. Tenten turned away to hide her disappointment. _

_WWWOooooosssshhhh!_

_The wind blew past her face. Tenten felt her loose brown hair blowling in the breeze, framing her face. Tenten panicked as she reached to the top of her head. Instead of the cap, Neji's hand was right above her head. She grunted as she grabbed it angrily and twirled him above her head. He hit the ground with a soft thud._

_Neji lay there, frozen. The last thing he remembered was using his gentle fist to kick her hat off. Now she was glaring down on him angrily, the long, silky strands of hair obscuring part of her face. When she reached down to deck him in the face, she froze when his hand delicately touched her face. She wore a stupid expression on her face. What on earth was he doing?_

_Neji reached up in a mesmerized fashion and brushed the soft strands of hair that was covering her face. He mentally retracted that comment about her looking like a boy. _

_Her hair reached about halfway down her back. It seemed to twist and turn in the right angles to perfectly adjust to her face. Neji thought for a second. After all these years, was this really the first time he had seen her with her hair down? He realized that he had never really thought about it._

_Tenten cheeks started burning with heat, making her cute little face red and puffy. She was about to say something when his voice interrupted her._

"_Why?"_

"_I woke up this morning mad because my alarm clock broke. I started my…this one thing, and I bumped into the nightstand, cutting my leg. I was so mad that I snapped all of my hair ties when I tried to do my hair." Tenten buried her face in her hands. She didn't want Neji to think she was going to be all girly. _

"_tllsniee"_

"_What?"_

"_It looks nice."_

_Tenten stared at him. She didn't move a muscle; it didn't even look like she was breathing. Neji gave her a small kick in the shins. She snapped out of her phase. "Did Hyuga Neji just compliment someone!" It was his turn to bury his hands in my face (only mentally)._

_Great. Now she thought he had gone all soft. Then she wouldn't like him-I mean be his friend anymore. _

_Neji's thoughts were interrupted when something warm touched his lips. It took him a whole 5 seconds to realize what was happening. By then, Tenten was already halfway down the street. Neji stared stupidly in the direction that she went, putting his fingers up to his lips. _

_End Flashback_

Neji looked at the scared, shaking girl before him. This was not the same girl that kissed him; he could see it in her eyes. She shook her head.

So where did he go from here?

Neji walked in uncomfortable silence. He looked wearily at Tenten; she had chosen to wear the only skirt Sakura had forced into her closet; a simple white eyelet skirt with beaded flowers on that fell about two inches above her knees. Seeing her in girly clothes with her hair down was depressing enough as it is. The fact that she was walking very timidly compared to her strong, manly strut made him hit rock bottom. Was she already that far gone?

A bubbly pink-haired girl waved them over to the ramen stand. There was a girl with blue hair and white eyes, a blond guy with whiskers on his face, a strange looking boy with fuzzy eyebrows, and a guy with a ponytail that oddly resembled a ponytail. They all started at her strangely. Tenten shifted uncomfortable at their gaze. Was she doing something wrong?

Lee gulped his ramen. "Tenten…you're wearing a s-skirt…"

"Uh huh…."

"YOU'RE WEARING A S-S-SKIRT!" Neji steered her over to a chair, far away from him, because she looked scared enough to piss in her pants…or, in this case, skirt.

Tenten sat on the stool and ordered a vegetarian ramen (Neji cringed. Even her usual meat eating tendencies were gone). As she was slurping up a few noodles, her heart stopped. The noodles fell from her mouth.

Sasuke walked over to the stool next to Sakura's nonchalantly and looked straight ahead. Her cheeks started to match her hair.

The redness in her cheeks were attracting unnecessary attraction. Neji saw what she was blushing from. It was too much for him. He got up her his chair violently, causing it to fall backwards. He mumbled something under his breath about having to go home. Everyone watched as Neji walked away, then turned back to Tenten. Her blush deepened.

Neji got home and went into his room silently. He didn't even glare at the main house members. He leaned onto a wall, slowly sliding downwards until he was sitting against it.

The weight of the day's events started to press in on him, choking him. Neji felt himself drowning at the bottom of a lake that was too deep to swim through. He clawed at the water, wasting more of the precious oxygen. He sat there, unmoving, scaring at the opposite wall the whole night. It was only until the sun came out that he crawled into bed. He lay there, never once closing his eyes.

Well, there it is. I don't know where this is going, but I have some vague idea of how it will end. Please review, review, review. :D


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to everyone who was nice enough to review! I'll get these chapters out as soon as possible, so don't you worry! As for how she lost her memory, that will all be explained eventually. I'm not sure how long this fic will be, but it'll be longer than my other one, that I'm positive of.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But hey, a girl can dream!**

Chapter Three: A Dove Among Crows 

"Neji, where are we going?"

"Just some place."

"Neji…please don't tell me this is another attempt to help me get my memory back." _"I don't want to be a disappointment anymore."_

Neji shrugged indifferently. There was no way that he could give up. Even if it took the rest of his life, he would do it. Because once Hyuga Neji set his mind on something, there was no turning back for him. He took her hand in his carefully and led her in a small, red building.

Tenten looked up and read the sign on the front. "The Curry of Life Shop? We hiked for five hours just to eat curry?" Neji shook his head. He nudged her inside and seated her down at a table.

Sanshou walked to their table and wiped her hands on her apron. "Hey, it's you again! Those wonderful little friends of Lee! Why, what a surprise, he stopped by just last week! Oh, forgive me. What would you like?"

Neji smirked. "The usual."

"You got it!" She skipped away, humming happily. Tenten stared down at her spoon. This woman had said she had seen them before. The emptiness that enclosed her whenever she didn't remember something never failed her. Tenten couldn't wait for this curry to come; all of a sudden, she was starving.

Her hearts swelled up with happiness when Sahshou returned with two plates and a curiously large pitcher of water. …Then it shriveled up at the sight of the bubbling goop that was placed in front of her. Tenten shot Neji a suspicious look. Was he serious? Was this non-toxic?

Neji took a small bite, so Tenten decided to follow suit. Hm…not bad. Not bad at-

_Hell._ That was the only word that could describe the burning, throbbing, blistering feeling she felt in her throat. _Hell, hell hell. _Tenten reached for the enormous pitcher of water and snatched it away before Neji could get his hands on it. She jammed it into her mouth and drank like a camel. When the burning pain was reduced to a slight tingle, Tenten handed him the half-full pitcher. He pounced on it. As he drank in the water, his Byakugan eventually deactivated.

Neji looked at the cup of water in his hands. He remembered with painstaking detail the way tenten had fed neji a cup of water the last time. He sighed. This wasn't working. _"…A hundred more stops to visit…"_

Tenten, if it was still Tenten, was no fool. She knew they didn't come all this way just to eat some ridiculously spicy curry. It was a wonder they didn't make you sign a release form. There was a memory buried somewhere within that little curry house. And she didn't have a shovel.

Tenten bumped into a gate. She rubbed at the red square-shaped imprints on her forehead. Neji showed the guards his Jounin identification card. They looked at him weirdly. Why would anyone want to go in there? They shrugged and let him in.

"Tenten…this is the Forest of Death." Tenten jumped as a snake winded towards her, landing in Neji's strong grasp.

Flashback 

"Where is he? He should have been here ten minutes ago."

Neji looked around the cave. There was no indication that Lee had even passed through the rendezvous point. He sighed. "He must've encountered trouble.

_Tenten scratched the side of her head with her index finger. "I'm sure that he can fend for himself. What should we do?" Neji got up and started walking towards the mouth of the cave. Tenten smiled as she followed him. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he really did look out for the big green idiot._

_Neji and Tenten leaped through the thick greenery and dodged the snakes and insects. He had his Byakugan activated._

_He heard a gasp, and then the sound of metal hitting bone. Neji turned around._

_He wouldn't peed in his pants if he wasn't Hyuga Neji. Behind him, a snake was about an inch away from sinking its teeth into his neck. However, there was a series of kunai sticking from it like a pincushion. He breathed in a sigh of relief._

"_Neji, you didn't see that?" He shook his head. He pulled her close to him so that his lips were gently touching her ears._

"_No one knows this Tenten…but even with the Byakugan, my vision isn't completely 360 degrees. As you just saw, I have a blind spot."_

_Tenten nodded. She understood the gravity of his secret. She continued to hop from tree to tree, but this time, instead of running side by side, she stood a little behind him, right behind his blind spot._

_End Flashback _

A ghost of a smile graced Neji's lips before he quickly registered the fact that Tenten was in his arms. He let out the softest of sighs and ran from tree to tree, carrying her. She clung onto him like a cat avoiding water.

He suddenly stopped. It was in front of, you guessed it, that same old cave.

"Where are we now?" They were in a strange room with a dirt floor and two large hands formed into a seal. The floor and walls were cracked, and Tenten was in no hurry to find out what lived in those crevices.

He waved it off as he did a henge. Tenten blinked at the tall, leggy blond before her with four pigtails. She was wielding a big, metal fan.

"She" pulled open her fan about one-third of the way, revealing one purple circle. "This is the first star. By the time you see three stars, you'll be done for." Tenten could only blink in response.

The Neji girl swung her fan, creating a fairly large gust of wind. Granted, it was not nearly as big as Temari's gust of wind, but it was an excellent reenactment. Tenten cursed under her breath a little and ran. Neji was mildly surprised to see that she had received only minimal damage.

Tenten pulled out the scrolls that Neji had demonstrated how to use and chose a long double-sided pole-arm. Tenten was no expert with these weapons, but the moves seemed to come to her second-nature. A small voice in the most distant folds of her mind told her to move left, move right, duck, jump. Her muscles welcomed the familiar stances and movements. Neji was swinging the fan around like a mad man.

Tenten twirled her pole arm in front of her to block off most of the wind. She feigned left, then slashed the mighty fan. It puffed into a battered kunai. He smirked. "Not too shabby."

Tenten brushed the dirt from her knees. "Not too shabby? I kicked your…butt."

He shrugged. This wasn't how the turnout was supposed to be, but it wasn't too horribly painful. "Um…you're still…womanly…"

"You don't like my pigtails?" Tenten laughed as she threw a kunai at Neji. He was _definitely _not expecting that.

The henge was released, and the kunai made contact. Tenten gasped as she ran towards him, fanning the smoke out of her face. She breathed in a sigh of relief when she saw that her kunai only knocked off his head band thingy.

Tenten frowned when she saw his forehead. She had expected it to be smooth and flawless, like the rest of his face. A few weird markings tainted his pure, snow-like skin. Neji looked to the left and tried to cover it. But she softly reached up to him and ran her fingers over the weird markings.

It was like static pulsing through her fingers when they made contact with the seal of his forehead. The electric airwaves coursed throughout her, causing her to shake. The world turned black as a large falcon flapped furiously in a wired cage, trying to break free. It dispersed as soon as her fingers left his forehead. Tenten fought to cling onto that image. She had prayed for something, _anything_, no matter how insignificant it seemed, as long as it was a fragment of her past. Tenten engraved it into her brain a thousand times until she was sure it would stay. Her face twisted into a look of concentration. Neji looked at her, clearly confused. The jolts were making it had for her to conentrate.

Tenten felt light headed but happy. There was hope. That one bird had soared into her will and strengthened it. For once in her life she felt…purpose. Like she wasn't just some robot programmed to eat, sleep, and train. She placed her fingers over his seal again and spoke. Neji had to strain to hear her words; he almost convinced himself that he had just imagined her talking. But when she repeated herself, he was sure he wasn't imagining it. The words that drifted into his ears stuck with him, after they parted, after he went to sleep, and long after he woke up:

"Don't give up on me…It'll be gone tomorrow, but it'll come."

Tenten brought out a new scroll and poured water onto her ink stone, rubbing her brush into it. She brought the brush to the paper and let her hand guide her. A soft, linear arc. A small dot. Two thin arches. As Tenten let the drawing bring itself to life, a young man manifested itself onto the paper. Her hand used the most graceful, delicate strokes her clumsy hand could manage to draw in his long hair. The hand used small, scrunched up strokes to draw his hand, gripping someone else's. A second figure manifested itself beside the young man, his arm held protectively around her waist, his other hand laced in hers.

Two circular strokes for the hair, and her painting was done. The young man and woman seemed to glide across the page, the wind blowing through his hair as he twirled the awkward girl around. Tenten looked at the drawing carefully. Something was missing.

She used a nice jade green ink to draw in the weird seals on his forehead. She breathed in the epiphany of hope that filled her, for it would wither away by tomorrow. Tenten set the scroll by the widow to dry, where it fluttered in the breeze. Neji and Tenten danced all night long.

Yanno, if you review, I juuuust might post up the next chappie tomorrow (nudge, nudge xD). So review, okay! Please:

P.s: Thanks to little wolf blossom for catching that error :


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! They really do give me encouragement to continue. This fic is doing a lot better than I thought it would; I'm hoping by the end I can reach 50 (hey, it could happen!…maybe xD). So keep it up guys, you seriously rock my and my socks. 

**Disclaimer: Yah, yah I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter Four: A Separate Piece 

"So…where should we go to eat lunch today?"

"Sakura said she wanted to see you, and she's at the dumpling stand." Tenten wrinkled her nose. She obviously hated dumplings.

"Do I like dumplings?"

Neji nodded. "It's your favorite food. Let's go." Tenten ignored the angry little voice in her head that threatened to tear the inside of her brains if she was force fed another dumpling. If that's what Tenten liked, then she, Tenten, would eat it.

Sakura got up from her seat and waved them over to a booth. "Hey guys! Boy, don't you get tired of eating dumplings?" Neji glared at her slightly, causing her to meep and sit back down in her seat. A middle-ages woman came to take their order.

"I'll have the shrimp dumplings, and she'll have the sesame dumplings." Tenten moaned on the inside. Little meat dumplings danced around her head, driving her crazy.

Sakura stroked her chin. She wrinkled her nose at the menu. Half of them were either spicy or too fattening. "I'll just have some syrup-coated anko dumplings." The waitress nodded and took their menus away.

Sakura noticed a pattern that Tenten's life consisted of. And she didn't like it. "Hey, how about for desert, we go get some shaved ice? They have a stall just a few blocks down. Tenten, you like the plum shaved ice, right?"

Neji shook his head. "She likes the cherry shaved ice." Tenten fumbled with her straw wrapper.

"Hm…that's funny, because I could've sworn that she was eating a plum shaved ice two days ago with Hinata." Tenten snapped her chopsticks in half.

"Oops…sorry." Tenten picked up the broken chopsticks and got a new pair, avoiding eye contact with Neji. He looked and her for a minute. No, that couldn't be it. Tenten loved cherry shaved ice. She was always suckering him into buying her some.

"You must be mistaken. Cherry and plum are both, after all, red. You probably saw from a distance. Sakura looked at Tenten pleadingly, but the girl wouldn't budge. She sighed, slightly deflated under the lost efforts.

"You're right; I must be mistaken. Although I wasn't ranked as the smartest in my year for nothing…" The last bit was too quiet for Neji to hear. Not that he was listening, anyway. The food came.

Tenten ate one sesame dumpling. Then another. And another. And kept eating the putrid dumplings until they were all gone. Tenten sighed happily as the empty plate was removed from her.

"What's wrong Tenten? Not hungry today? You usually got seconds, even thirds on occasion." Tenten set her cup down on the table a little too hard. She was going to have to have a talk with that girl.

"Um..you see, I had a big breakfast. Yah, that's it. A nice, big breakfast." She patted her belly for show. 

Sakura nodded. "Yes, and what did you have for breakfast?" Neji looked at her from the side. She hated trick questions.

"Pancak…" Neji's expression soured. "I mean, pan cooked rice. Yes. I had pan cooked rice." Neji looked away from her, satisfied. Sakura took a long, deep swig of her tea, praying she could break into her sensei's hidden stash of booze.

When the check came, Neji brought out some money to pay. Sakura shook her head. "It's okay, I'll pay for my own. I'm a big girl." She narrowed her eyes a little as she said the last word and looked at Tenten. Neji shrugged and paid for his and Tenten's. _"Suit yourself…more money for me."_

They stepped out of the booth and walked around. Sakura's dull face brightened up. "I know, we should go shopping!" She expected Neji to refuse, but he simply shrugged, which in Neji language meant go ahead.

Sakura grabbed Tenten's wrist and dragged her to a nearby boutique while Neji walked at a comfortable pace after them.

They jumped out of their fitting rooms. Sakura was donning a white shrug with a spring green skirt. She walked in front of the mirror, turning around and making pouty faces. Tenten was wearing a pink wrap shirt with a blue skirt that fell a little above her knees. Neji walked towards a rack and started looking through it.

"Here." Neji shoved a large black bundle at Tenten. She shrugged indifferently and went back in. A few minutes later she emerged from the fitting room. Neji gave a nod of approval while Sakura's jaw lolled around near her toes.

She was wearing a plain black tank top with a short black skirt with knee length black leggings under. While it showed just a little more skin than usual, it was totally unfeminine and the colors were dull. Something that the _old_ Tenten would wear. But what about the Tenten they had now?

Sakura stormed away and dived into a huge wrack of shirts. She emerged with a similar tank top, only it was green. Neji grabbed the bridge of his nose, apparently under stress at the thought of compromise. He finally nodded.

Tenten went back in and put on the green tank top. The saleslady clipped the tags off of her clothes, and she wore them out of the store. After taking a few steps, Neji took something out of a white plastic bag. "I believe they are your size."

Tenten looked at the gloves Neji handed her. They were black leather gloves that were the fingerless kind. On top there was a metal plate with engravings of dragons on it. Tenten put the gloves on and did the straps. Sakura had to admit to herself that the gloves looked very nice on her. But that wasn't what bothered her.

"Neji, I think they're too small."

"Are they too small, Tenten? I think they look nice on you."

She couldn't understand why, but his compliment gave her a warm feeling. She shook her head. "They're fine."

He nodded. "I remember your size from our last mission." Sakura was positively fuming. All of the civilians in the area ran for their lives, away from the killer aura that was emitting from the pink haired kunoichi.

"Neji…can we talk?" He stared at her and blinked. "I mean…alone." He reached into his pocket and took out a few bills.

"Here, you can buy something to eat. Perhaps a cherry shaved ice." Tenten nodded and walked off towards the shaved ice stand.

"NEJI!"

"?"

"Don't you realize what you're doing!"

"Nothing."

"Yes, something. You're making her miserable!" He looked at Tenten, who was eating cherry shaved ice. She waved at him cutely.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Neji! If you know her as well as you claim to, you would be able to see that she isn't happy."

"I know. But I'm just helping her. She wants to remember, Sakura. We can't do that unless she's introduced to familiar things."

She rubbed at her temples. "Neji…no. That's not right. You're forcing her to be someone she's not."

"Someday she'll turn back into the old Tenten. The one we miss so much.

"BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ONE WE HAVE NOW? ISN'T IT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU THAT SHE'S ALIVE AT ALL?"

Her voice echoed through the alley. The shrill, hate in her voice boomed through his ears. She sighed. "Neji, I know how you feel. But don't you realize how lucky we are she came back at all. Get to know her now. You'd be surprised."

For the first time since Tenten lost her memory, Neji's expression turned cold and morbid. "No."

"What?"

"No, you don't know. You don't know how I feel at all, Sakura. You have no idea what it's like to have the your most important person found, only to discover they're gone again. You wouldn't feel the same way if it was Sasuke that lost his memory. The cold, harsh reality that passes when you find out they don't even know your face anymore. All those memories that made you laugh, made you cry, made you smile; they're gone. Forever. And you feel helpless."

Sakura's eyes widened a little, but Neji continued. "You may not agree with me. But I'm doing what I feel is right. And I can't change that. I can't like this everyday…nobody knows what it's like, not even you." As he turned away from her, coldness spread throughout her body.

Neji was gone from the alley, and she was all alone. "You're wrong," she told the walls, "I'd just be happy he's alive…"

The wind blew through her hair, carrying with it the last bit of feeling she had in her fingertips. Her teeth grinded as she shivered in the warm, summer sunshine.

"…Wouldn't I?"

_You look familiar; I know that face_

_Your hair, flowing with an uncanny grace_

_Your name sounds foreign in my lips, so strange_

_Yet my hand trembles when you're in my range_

_What's my name, what's my age, you look new._

_But I am sure of one thing; I remember you _

_A soul without a past; like a newborn, lost and scared_

_Breathe in my the memories that we have shared_

_Because I'm turning back to the start_

Next chapter will be up tomorrow or on Thursday. Thanks for reading, and keep those _delicious_ reviews coming please :


	5. Chapter 5

Hey beautifuls :D Thanks for your insight and ideas; they get me thinking (amazing, isn't it!). This next chapter is kind of the basis for one of the turning points in the story. It may not make much sense, but I think you'll get it once you read the next one. Thank you, all of my precious and faithful readers!

**Disclaimer: We all know I don't own Naruto**

Chapter Five: Patching up the loose ends

Tenten breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. She didn't calculate the targets with her eyes; she felt for it, just like Neji told her to. She brought a few shurikens out of her pouch and crossed her arms in front of her. She waited until it felt right to her, then jumped and threw all of her shurikens. Neji activated his Byakugan. Tenten waited in painful anticipation.

She read through his mask and saw slight disappointment. "One." She was plunged into a world of inferiority. How could she miss one? It was a disgrace to her name. Tenten slouched over in disappointment and used her chakra strings to draw her shurikens out of the tree. A good thing she knew how, because she was way too tired to go around plunking them out of trees.

They had been training ever since that day. She was getting better, and the moves were coming to her easily. SO what was keeping her back?

Neji read her mind. "You've got to let go of fear." She bit her lower lip and nodded. She got back into position and closed her eyes. _"Do it for your village. Do it for your reputation. Do it for you. And do it for Neji._"

Tenten opened her eyes and threw the shurikens at the targets. Even she could smell her own determination in the air. She looked at Neji with a big smile; _bullseye._

He smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He nodded and started digging through her scrolls. "Are you familiar with it all?" Tenten nodded. "Have you been practicing?" Another nod. Neji looked satisfied. "Then that is all for today." Tenten grabbed her scrolls and weapons and was about to head back towards her apartment when a gust of smoke obscured her vision. She fanned her arms around, coughing. Neji did like wise, only in a lot more dignified way.

"Yo." Tenten glared at the silver-haired guy in front of her. Sure, he was very good looking for an old man, but did he always have to enter with a "shebang!" as Naruto called it? "Hokage-sama wants you to report to her office. You two have a mission request." Neji glanced at the scared girl next to him. She was ready. He nodded.

Neji grasped her hand in his and started for the Hokage tower. He knocked on her door. Hard.

"What, huh, hey? Oh yah." She was removing the pieces of paper stuck to her forehead when they came in. "Hyuga Neji and Tenten. You've been out of action for weeks. As two of my most prized jounin, I can't allow that anymore." She turned to Tenten. "Do you choose to accept?"

Did she want to accept, and possibly, get herself killed? Of course not! She wanted to run to her apartment and hide in the blankets, eating triple fudge swirl ice cream. But there was no way she could bring herself to disappoint this man who she had gotten to know so well. "I accept." Tsunade smiled warmly. "Good. Here is your mission. It is an assassination mission, pretty straightforward. I expect you back my tomorrow afternoon. You may leave as soon as you're ready."

"_Which will be, for me, never."_ "Um…Neji?"

"Hm?"

"Do I like missions?" He nodded. That was enough for her. Tenten packed her small bag with a few weapons, a bottle of water, and a few snacks. They headed out of the village. "Who is our target?"

"Hiroyuki. He's holding the fire lord's daughter hostage. We have to kill him, get the girl, and return."

"Okay…what's his first name?"

"No one knows."

"Oh." She wasn't comfortable with killing someone who did nothing to her. He was a complete stranger. So this was the life of a ninja…

They jumped from tree to tree in an awkward silence that engulfed them. _"It's okay…she's ready. I know she is. Tenten is the only one who can spar with me without passing out. She'll be fine. But…what if something goes wrong?"_

Tenten gulped audibly and continued to run with Neji. She noted with confusion that her body refused to move itself from the spot she was it; slightly behind Neji, as if she were protecting him. Tenten shrugged and continued to jump. She turned around and bumped into Neji, who had stopped. She tried to apologize, but he wrapped his hand over her mouth. She was limp in his grasp.

"We're Here." He mouthed to her. She headed east. Neji headed west. He used his Byakugan to locate their target. Tenten was ready to follow his lead. Tenten looked at Neji. And then he was gone…

"_Shit._" She had missed her signal to follow. And now she was behind. Tenten jumped from her hiding spot and ran after Neji.

"Hakkeshou: Kaiten." Neji deflected the three bodyguards that charged at him. He thrusted his right palm into each of their hearts, immediately killing them. Tenten stood with her back against Neji's, in that same spot as when they were running.

An old man with a very cheesy mustache and sunglasses looked at them very casually. "So the Hyuga brat and his side kick have come to the rescue. What a shame." She stabbed at the girl who was tied to a chair. Neji was about to go in to stop him, but he noticed something was out of place. There was no one in the chair. Just a whole lot of smoke.

"Where's the girl?"

The man did an evil laugh. "What girl? There is no girl, and there was never a girl. We sent the signal, you fools."

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

For the first time the man looked angry. "Because, you brat, remember me?" he poofed into a puff of smoke, and in his place was a young man with red hair tied back in a ponytail. Neji glared. The coldness of his glare was sending chills to Tenten. Who was this guy?

Flashback 

_A young man with a red ponytail flickered the lights on. He looked down at the girl sitting on a chair, restrained by many thick ropes. _

"_Such a pretty little girl…what a shame." He went down on a knee so that his face was level with Tenten's. He grabbed her chin with one hand. He pulled her chin closer. Tenten head-butted him, shattering his sunglasses. His false-sadness evaporated and was replaced by anger. "You little bitch." He decked her across the jaw._

_Tenten felt her jaw spring out of place. The man smugly waited for her to cry or scream in pain. But Tenten merely spat the blood at his face. "What did I you think I would do, scream?"_

"_I guess not…but don't worry, by the time I'm done with you, you won't even be able to." He brought out a katana and rubbed the sharp edge with his index finger. He sneered at her and sauntered slowly to where she was. He brought his katana down, expecting her blood to go all over the place. However, things didn't go as planned._

_Tenten got on her feet, with a little bit of difficulty, and ran backwards into the wall with as much force as she could. The chair broke into a million splinters. He glared at her. "What was with the captured act then? Why didn't you just escape while I was gone?" She charged at him and punched him in the face as hard as she could. _

"_Because, this way's much more fun." She cracked her knuckles and was about to do more damage when the door flew open. Neji stood at the top of the basement._

_The red-haired man groaned. "Don't you idiots know this is a closed part-" before he was finished with that sentence Neji activated his Byakugan and started running through a flurry of movements, yelling "2 hits, 4 hits, 8 hits, 16 hits, 32 hits, 64 hits." For good measure, he slammed the stupid guy into a wall. When the dust cleared, the whole room was in shambles._

_The desk? Gone. The chairs? Floor trash. The walls? Lets just say it looked like this man had one angry cat. Neji stood above the pathetic kneeling man and glared down at him. He was panting, not from exhaustion, but from anger. He stomped on his face, crushing him. The man cried out in agony, but Neji didn't hear him. He grabbed Tenten by the arm and dragged her out. _

_Neji began to walk away. But he found he couldn't move. "What the?"_

_The man cackled like a maniac. Neji turned around to look at him. His fingers had turned into roots. They went into the ground and emerged, binding him by the ankles. "Fancy getting out of these?" An electric jolt pulsed through Neji. He grinded his teeth and closed his eyes. "Oh, you're a tough one. Let's see how long it takes for you to scream like a little girl." He sent another series of thunderbolts through the roots. The hem of his pants and shirt were singed. _

"_Um…hello? Did you forget your kidnapee?" Tenten pulled a scroll from her pocket, bit her thumb, and placed it on the scroll. Two black kodachis appeared with a puff of smoke. She charged towards the roots and tried to hack through them with no luck. _

"_Ha ha ha! What a stupid girl. You can't cut through these vines. They're made with chakra, so they're tougher than steel." Tenten's mouth formed into a half smile._

"_I know. But that's not what I'm aiming for." The man snapped a vine at her, but she just dispersed into a cloud of smoke. He turned around, in time to see tenten cut a vertical slash through his right arm. The vines retreated. The red-haired man tried to move his arm, but it was as good as dead. _

"_You're dead." He came charging at Tenten and Neji. Neji got into his stance and hit him a few times near the heart. Tenten shot a poisonous senbon at his heart, but he dodged him. Lucky him; it landed smack dab in the middle of his left eye._

_Tenten and Neji used his screams as a cue to flee. He grabbed her by the wrist, and together they ran. _

"_I told you not to get separated."_

"_But I was doing just fine when-" His look of almost parental superiority told her there would be no arguing. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Neji."_

_He brought her into a rough hug, then released her. He continued walking, while she trailed behind, guarding his blind spot._

_End Flashback_

Neji scratched at his head. Oh yah, that guy. He had forgotten all about him. Hm. "What do you want?" _"Loser."_

The man took the sunglasses off. One of his sockets was filledin with a very obvious glass eyeball. "I want to see again, that's what I want! And tonight, after I kill you and your little side kick, I'm taking those nifty little eyes of yours."

He roared as he jumped at Neji, who tossed him aside. The fuming man landed in a somersault and brought out two katanas. He swung at Neji, who blocked every hit with his wrist guards. He did a Hakke Kusho to blast his opponent away. He smirked as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The world turned to slow motion as Nej's nightmares came to life. His head slowly turned around. In the world of slow motion, Tenten was carelessly standing with her back towards the red-haired man, who was gaining ground. In a few seconds, it would all be over.

And that's when it hit him; she wasn't ready. She was as strong as Tenten, but this was her first mission. Her first _A_ ranked mission, at that. This was not the Tenten he knew; this was not the Tenten he loved. This was a confused girl who had no intention of being a shinobi.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and then some, boosting his speed with chakra. Within a fraction of a second, he was in front of Tenten, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

Tenten turned around in time to see him lift the blade above his head. It was over; how could she be so careless? Tenten closed her eyes, ready. She waited for the pain…but it never came. A warmness spread throughout her body. Was it her own blood? Tenten opened her eyes.

She was partly right; she was covered in blood, but it wasn't her own. Neji fell limp in her arms. She closed her arms around him, hugging him close. She didn't know why, but tears flooded her eyes. She got up, lifting Neji with her, and threw one of her kodachis at the odd man with all of her strength.

The white of his eyes went dull as his limbs went lifeless against the wall. Tenten pulled her kodachi out of the wall. He slid down to the floor without the sword's support.

She got out a black container of healing ointment Neji's cousin made, and wiped the blood away from his back. Tenten willed herself not to pass out at the gory sight; the cut was over a foot long. She rubbed the ointment into the cut as gently as she could. Neji's face was lifeless and blank.

"A-Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Tenten put his arm over her shoulders. He seemed to cringe when she touched him. She sighed as she made her way back to the village; she blew it. He hated her.

They neared the gates. Tenten showed them their dientification. The gates opened.

"Neji…I'm sorry. I know you hate me."

He shook his head. A single tear escaped from his face. This struck her as odd and out of place. "I don't hate you Tenten…because I don't know you."

The words felt like ice. Her ears went cold when they entered them. Tenten's fingers hummed, and she lost feeling in them.

"I shouldn't have forced you to be someone you're obviously not…my apologies." Tenten dropped him. She was too numb even to stand up. She fell to her knees. The guards ran towards them.

"Whoa, you guys okay?"

Neji and Tenten both shook their heads.

The white ceilings in the hospital always creeped Tenten out. She didn't even know what she was doing here; she had only the most minimal injuries. Sakura opened the door a crack.

"Tenten, you alright?" Tenten couldn't speak, but the tears said it all. Sakura rushed in and hugged the girl in a very motherly way.

"Oh Tenten." Tenten shook her head violently. Sakura looked down at her, clearly confused.

"No."

"What's no?"

"Don't call me Tenten. I'm not Tenten. I don't know Tenten." Sakura hugged the girl again.

"Okay, I'll call you whatever you want. But for now, just cry, okay? Until you're all cried out and dry."

Neji's words replayed in her head throughout the whole night. She didn't sleep.

I'm blown away with the reviews; much more than I thought I would get. You guys…are…just beautiful. So beautiful, to _meee!_ Can't you _seeee!_ …I'll stop singing, for the sake of my windows. I have a confession to make: I'm already done with chapter 6 as well. If you guys want, I'll have it up by 6:30. So let me know! Review:D


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again everyone! Whoa, two in one days. Who's your favorite writer :D Okay maybe not, but still, two in one day! xD here you go, you impatient people: 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. You don't own Naruto. We all don't own Naruto!**

Chapter Six: I'm coming back to the start 

"_Neji, this dress is ridiculous!" He rolled his pale white eyes at her._

"_This is the traditional ball room dancing dress that westerners wear."_

"_I know," she grumbled. "But I can't breathe!" _

_Neji looked at Tenten. Her dress was silver and simple, but still elegant. The neckline was off-shoulder, and the long, lacy sleeves brushed against her fingertips. The mid-section of the dress was very tight. Below that, the dress had layers upon layers of bouncy, fluffy, lacy goodness. Tenten was having a hard time walking in the strange contraption. There was a large bow in the back that added to her train. (Think Kira's fancy dresses from Pirates of the Caribbean)._

_He thought she looked nice. Her hair was tied back in an elaborate knot at the back of her head. She frowned at him._

"_How come you get the keep your hair down while I have to do mine with these stupid ornaments? My head feels heavy." Neji shooshed her. They were on a mission, after all. The last thing they needed to do was blow their cover. He tried to twirl her. Big mistake._

_Tenten's ankle bucked under the weight of her dress. She stumbled backwards into a women to glared at her. Tenten hardly noticed, too busy feeling sorry for her misfortune…_

…_Although, it wasn't everyday Neji would dance with her, especially in public. She took advantage of the opportunity, so they danced all night. He could feel the breeze; the goose bumps on his arms cried out to him._

Neji pulled the covers closer to him. He hated dreams; they hurt too much. They taunted him with what he used to have. Neji stayed there in bed for many hours, looking at the ceiling. When he heard the door creak open, he quickly pretended to be sleeping. Damn nurses were always forcing him to sleep. But for some reason, he just couldn't seem to.

"Drop the act, Hyuga. It's just me." Neji muffled the loud blond's voice out with a pillow.

"What do you want Naruto?"

"What, can't a guy come visit his friend in the hospital?"

"No."

"I'll have you no, I'm missing ramen time to visit you, so you should be grateful." He paused for a minute, and looked at Neji. "Why the long face?"

Neji turned in his bed and faced the other way.

"Aw, come on Neji. You can tell Naruto anything!" He flashed his moderation of the good guy pose. Neji sighed. What the heck. So he told him.

And for once, surprisingly, Naruto was quiet, listening intently. "Is that all?" Neji nodded. "Oh, okay, just making sure. If you don't mind I'd like to make a small, minor comment to that…WHAT IN HELL'S NAME DID YOU DO THAT FOR!"

Neji's hair flapped in the wind that erupted from Naruto's mouth. He blinked. Naruto brushed his hands through his hair, the bags shining with wrinkly goodness. "Nej, Nej. Nej. You IDIOT! She'll never talk to you again! She'll be a depressed little bun-haired mess for the rest of her miserable life!"

"Naruto, she is not the same girl as Tenten."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't believe you."

"They're two different people. And it's high time I figured that out."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes. Today, she nearly got killed. She doesn't like any of the things Tenten did. She doesn't eat the same foods as Tenten. She doesn't even dress like Tenten."

"But what about her? What about the Tenten now?"

"She is of no concern of mine. As far as I know, she's a stranger to me."

"Nope! Wrong!"

"…"

"She's of no concern to you, ey? Is that why you protected her? Scars don't lie, Neji, and you've got one hell of a scar, from what I hear from Hinata."

Neji's face flushed. "I can't help but protect her."

"Because you love her."

"I love Tenten. I can't help but feel mixed feelings when I see her walking, talking, breathing. But inside, that's not Tenten."

"Who said anything about Tenten?"

Naruto sighed at Neji's stupidity. Some genius. "I never said you love Tenten. Well yah, you do. We _all_ no you do. But she doesn't remember anything, Nej. Why not give her a chance?"

Neji was a little speechless. But not for long. "She doesn't even remember me, Naruto. She doesn't remember what we went through."

"So?"

"So? So, she doesn't love me. She doesn't even know me."

"You spend every waking moment together! If I had parents, I'm sure you spent more time together then they do. I know love when I see it Neji. I don't get why everybody thinks I'm stupid." To prove his point, Naruto tried to lick a bit of chocolate fudge from his sundae earlier that was stuck to his elbow.

"..Jee…I wonder."

"Anyways." Naruto gave up on the fudge after his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets from trying to lick his elbow. "Give the new Tenten; in fact, I think you _already_ like her."

"No. I like Tenten."

"Then what's with the _hugging? And hand holding? Ooh, and the little hearts you get in your eyes when you feast your eyes on her?"_ Naruto clasped his hands together and blew smooches to Neji. He hit Naruto on the head; he went down like an anchor.

"It's the way she looks…isn't it?"

Naruto played stupid—it wasn't hard for him—and started to walk out the door. "Well, I don't know, Nej. But I'm sure _you_ do. Oh well, see you later Nej. I'm going to go ask Hinata to marry me, and bear my children. Later!" He bolted out the door before Neji had a chance to beat him to a bloody pulp. He tried to run out of the hospital in hot pursuit, but sadly, the nurses caught up to him.

"Ah, Ah Ah, Neji! Straight to bed young man!" He cursed under his breath. _"Damn nurses…"_

Neji sat in bed and played with his breakfast. Naruto's words haunted his conscious, and his ears. Man, that kid could yell.

A little Naruto bubble popped up next to Neji's head.

"Give the new Tenten; in fact, I think you _already_ like her. Give the new Tenten; in fact, I think you _already_ like her. Give the new Tenten; in fact, I think you _already-_"

"Naruto, I have a head ache. Could you come back later?" The little Naruto in his bubble scratched at the back of his head.

"He he he…sorry Nej. Well, um, later!" He popped out of existence. Neji plopped back down on the bed.

Was he still in love with the old Tenten…or was he moving on to the new one?

Tenten shifted around in her bed, trying to get comfortable. She couldn't sleep; a certain Hyuga was haunting her.

"_He hates me. No, wait, he doesn't. He just doesn't know me. Like that's any better."_

Tenten felt ashamed; she wasn't making any progress with her memory. Why couldn't she do it? What was holding her back? She wanted so badly to make him happy. But why?

Tenten's stomach lurched whenever she thought of the times where he would hold her hand and guide her like a child. He was always taking care of her, and he was always there. She felt void and lonely without her memories or any sense of existence. But he filled in that gap a little with all the time and care he gave her.

"_I love him."_

It sounded corny and embarrassing to her, but she knew it was true. He was mad at her because she couldn't remember anything; then she would remedy that situation. She would try hard, harder than ever, to regain herself. She would visit her old places, recreate events, if that's what it took. Anything to get her memory back; anything to get him back…

Tenten sat by the window and traced her fingers on it. It felt cold under her fingers from the rain. The rain. Did she like the rain? Tenten squinted her eyes and bit her lip in concentration. Her brows furrowed. Did she like the rain? DID SHE LIKE THE RAIN? Nothing…she got nothing. Tenten stared into the darkness, outside the window and inside of her.

It had been three days. Three days since she saw him. And it was driving her slowly insane. She leaned on the window pane. The fustration tapped at her head. It tapped her again. And again.

Wait a second…

She turned to the window. She saw a rock hit the window. She looked further, and the sight that was before her convinced her that she loved rain.

Tenten ran out the door of her apartment and took the stairs 100 at a time. She tripped and fell on her face. Tenten jumped back up and ran down the rest of the stairs. She ran outside. Neji was soaking wet.

She watched as a few rain drops collected at his collar bone. They sat there, until too many drops forced it to overflow. His wet hair stuck to the sides of his face. He was a mess, but Tenten was overjoyed to see him.

Tenten found her voice first. "Neji, from now on I'll-"

"No."

"Huh?"

He slowly walked to her, under the roof, and held her. Tenten felt wet but warm. "I've been pressuring you into getting your memory back. And forcing you to do things you don't want to. You were miserable, weren't you?"

"No," she lied. "You were just helping me. That's why-"

She shook his head, the wet drops from his hair raining onto her. "You don't have to anymore."

…And now she was confused. "What? You don't want me to get my memory back?"

He nodded. "It would be nice if you did. But you don't have to try anymore. Because…"

Tenten's throat was dry. Was he really going to say it?"

"…I like the new you just fine."

She let her head drop onto his chest, burying it. He held it gently and rested his head on her chin. Tenten's tears soaked the front of his already wet shirt. She was happy; that much was sure. But a there was a nagging feeling residing in her, tugging at her and willing her to protest. She shook it off. For now, this would do. There was a time and place for conflict; it wasn't here, or now.

One of his arms snaked around her waist, holding her closer. _"Yes, this would definitely do for now."_

Well that's it for today. I hope the fluff wasn't too much. Review, review, review, and I'll have the next one up tomorrow. Capice?


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to everyone who reviewed :D It motivates me to get these bad boys on faster. And I love it when you add my stories in your favorites xD From this point on, the pace is picking up. I knew the past few chapters were kinda slow, so I'll make up for it. Well, my lasagna's done, so toodles!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto D:**

Chapter Seven: It Takes Two

Neji looked at Tenten uneasily. "Do you not like star gazing? We can always get something to eat."

Tenten shook her head. "I like the stars." She leaned onto Neji's shoulder, and it surprised her that he didn't pull away, only she didn't know why.

Flashback 

_Tenten wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Why don't we call it a day?"_

_Neji sighed. "It's only been seven hours."_

"_Yah, seven hours of my life! And I'm not getting any younger!"_

_Neji ignored her and sat down on the grass, picking at his lunch with his chopsticks. Tenten sat with her back to him, smiling down at her sesame dumplings. She licked her lips cutely and dug in like a barbarian. Neji groaned; he could practically feel the globs of food that were no doubt landing in his hair and clothes._

_Tenten was exhausted. After wolfing down her lunch, she unconsciously leaned back. They were sitting back-to-back. Tenten's lids drooped down halfway. She smiled and happily patted her stomach. She was just about to fall asleep when Neji pulled away. His cheeks were an unnoticeable pink with embarrassment from when she had pressed against him. _

_It was very unfortunate that Tenten was seated at the top of a small hill. She went tumbling backwards, squashing Neji's lunch and anything else that lie in her path. Neji waited for her to yell at him and beat him with her sticks and weapons. However, she never did. Neji could've sworn that he heard a faint, low buzzing sound. He saw Tenten sprawled at the bottom of the hill, her limbs all over the place. He sighed. This was no place for a nap._

End Flashback 

"Why don't we go for a shaved ice?" Tenten nodded eagerly. She loved sweets…didn't she? She shook the last part from her head and walked hand-in-hand with Neji.

"One lemon shaved ice and one…cherry, right?" Tenten's cheeks flushed a little. "Yes." Neji paid the man. They sat on a bench, eating their shaved ices. She leaned back on the bench and started swinging her legs back and forth; she wasn't tall enough to reach the bottom. Neji looked at his own feet planted firmly on the ground.

Flashback 

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Reading my cards." He nodded. She was sitting on a large tree stump, fumbling around with a deck of cards. "Want a reading?"_

"_No. My fate no longer controls me." Tenten's hearty chuckle rang throughout the clearing. _

"_That's right."_

"_What's that one say?"_

_Tenten studied the card. Her face crumpled up into a slight frown. She shoved all the cards back into her pocket. "Nothing. I think I messed up the order, anyway."_

_He was just standing there, stiff as a board. She patted the spot next to her on the spacious tree stump. Neji took a seat. His feet reached the ground, while hers dangled and swayed in the wind. Tenten looked at his feet._

"_Hey, when did you get so tall." Tenten could pretty much smell the obnoxious rays coming from Neji._

"_As a male, it is only natural that I am taller than you."_

"_Yah, but your feet touch the floor, and mine are no where near there." She tapped her chin with her hooked index finger. "I thought I was taller than you…"_

_Neji look surprised. Was she **serious**? "Tenten…if I'm correct, the last time you were taller than me was when we were…twelve."_

_Her eyes bulged out. "Really?" He nodded. "Huh…I guess you never notice how much the people around you grow. She got up and pulled Neji up with her. She studied him._

_Yep. He was taller. Almost a head taller than her. And his hair had grown. Yes, definitely grown out. And check out those guns! How could she not have noticed the transformation that his pale, skinny arms had undergone? And…her cheeks reddened at the thought of how his chest would look like under that shirt._

_Neji coughed. He was getting quite uncomfortable with her staring at him like he was some endangered species. Tenten snapped out of her rapture and cleared her throat. She never realized how manly he had gotten._

_End Flashback_

Neji gulped down the last half of his shaved ice. He swallowed down his flashbacks and held Tenten's hands, tangling his fingers into hers. Tenten smiled a little as she rubbed the back of his hand with her fingers, still held tight in his grasp.

"Neji, do I like picking flowers?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

She took a small bite of her shaved ice, thinking way more than she should. "Nah, picking flowers sounds boring. After all, flowers just wither away and die the next day. They don't have much use." Tenten liked the comfortable silences that always bloomed between them. She wasn't one for words anyway.

A small smile graced Neji's face. "So what do you want to do?"

"Why don't we watch some movies with…H-Hinata, right?" he nodded.

Neji just strolled past the guards to the Hyuga Complex. Tenten was torn inside. Should she bow? Was she supposed to? Would bowing be a sign of weakness? Would it be disrespectful not to bow? Amidst the millions of questions that coursed through her brain, she ended up doing a sort of half bow that looked like she was ducking from an incoming ball. Neji just dragged the confused Tenten past the guards.

Tenten winced as a loud slurping noise erupted from the kitchen. When they entered the kitchen, their faces held a combination of horror and disbelief.

Noodles. Lots and lots of noodles. Noodles sticking out of his nose, ears, from between his teeth, just all over the place. Neji and Tenten winced when Naruto grinned at them. The little bits of noodles that were embedded in his teeth looked like maggots.

"Rhey gwoOyz!" Hinata hit Naruto in the back of the head with a spoon. He quickly slurped down the noodles in his mouth and flashed them a noodle-less, more charming smile. Tenten smiled at the two of them despite herself.

Neji gave them the "I demand an explanation" look. Hinata quickly tossed the large wooden spoon she was holding into the sink. "Neji-nii-san, hey. I was just telling Naruto I was worried he was going to run out of money with the way he eats. So I proposed I make him some, because it would be a lot cheaper."

Naruto licked his thumb and wiped at a flour smudge that was on one of her cheeks. She turned a little pink and his public display of affection. Of course, Naruto was clueless.

"Naruto, you're not an animal. We don't go around sharing our saliva and germs. That can lead to bacterial diseases, which can lead to meningitis, which can lead to the decaying of your limbs, which-" Hinata and Naruto _slowly_ backed out the back door of the kitchen, and made a mad dash for it. Off in the distance, Naruto grabbed Hinata from behind around the waist and spun her around and around. Her squeals and laughter echoed in the empty hallways.

Tenten looked at the two of them. "They're cute." Neji snorted. "The only thing cute about Naruto is…oh wait, there are none." She giggled a little and hit him in the shoulder playfully.

"So, Mr. Hyuga, tell me a story."

"…What kind? I don't know any."

"Any. Make one up." She brought up two chairs and sat on one, patting the chair next to her. Neji sighed, taking a seat beside her.

"Okay…One day, there was a boy. He was angry, because no one would acknowledge him. The people around him treated him like dirt. He was mad one day when he ran away into a forest. He decided that if nobody came looking for him by the end of the day, he would kill himself." Tenten listened with rapt attention. She took out a note pad and started jotting down a few things.

Neji blinked. "You're not going to be quizzed on this." She just smiled at him, and beckoned for him to go on. "Okay. So he thought he might as well train while he waited. No one came looking for him. No one cared. Then a girl came by. She seemed annoying at first, but she helped him train."

He cleared his throat a little. "That boy decided that if one person cared for him, even a little, then he would continue living for that one person. And he's still alive today."

Tenten waited a little to make sure he was finished. "Is that a true story?" There was a glimmer of hope in her big, brown eyes.

"No…at least, not anymore."

"What do you mean, not anymore?"

"It takes two to make a story authentic; on only one person's word, a story is distorted and fiction. They need a second opinion."

Tenten deflated a little, obviously disappointed. She glanced over her notes and browsed through them. Tenten pulled the sheets out of her notebook and ripped them in half. Neji looked at her a little strangely. Tenten smiled at him.

"Well, it's getting late. I should probably get home." She got up from the chair and walked closer to the door. Neji followed. "So…I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Neji gave into the nagging little voice that was interfering with his thinking. He couldn't bear the curiosity anymore. Neji gave in and walked up to Tenten. He grabbed her lightly by the shoulders and carefully pressed her against the back door of the kitchen. Tenten swallowed. This was it. She tipped her head forward a little.

He knelt down and kissed her lightly on the lips. She looked into his eyes for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and kissed him back. Neji took his time, careful not to rush it and overwhelm her. After a few moments of kissing softly, he leaned forward a little, deepening the kiss. Tenten's hands went involuntarily to his sides, clutching at the excess cloth on the sides of his waist. His fingers gently cupped her chin, and his other hand went around her shoulders, drawing her even closer.

Neji parted when he was feeling out of breath. Tenten looked at him with an unreadable expression. He couldn't understand what was going on in her head. She gave his hand a little squeeze then, reluctantly, let go and walked to her house. She turned around once, looked at him longingly, then continued to walk away.

Tenten walked home, absent-mindedly, thinking about his kiss.

It was sweet, it was intimate, it was warm, elevating, and everything a kiss should be. It was a perfect kiss; perfectly wrong.

Something about it felt foreign and detached. She could feel his soft lips brushing against hers, but she couldn't feel anything from inside. His kiss was empty when it should have filled herl it left her confused when it should have answered her questions. It took a few minutes to put a finger on what she was feeling; she should be skipping, hopping, singing, and walking among the clouds. But her steps were dull and empty.

The walk home was the perfect amount of time to figure it all out. Behind the sweet gestures and the delicate way he held her, something about that kiss was wrong. As Tenten looked up at her apartment, it all became clear to her. She knew what was wrong with the kiss.

Neji was did kiss her. But he didn't. He wasn't kissing _her_; Neji was kissing a girl formerly known as Tenten.

Unintentionally, while he kissed her, Neji was looking for something that he thought he had forgotten. He was looking for Tenten; the _real_ Tenten. He was kissing the _real_ Tenten.

Though he had meant to send a different message across, Tenten got his true meaning loud and clear; he wanted his old Tenten back. There was no changing that, no matter how many lies they exchanged with one another.

Buh-dee-buh-dee-buh, that's all folks:0

Review! I mean it, missy! …Please? O


	8. Chapter 8

Oh. My. Gosh. I never thought I would get even 50 reviews. You guys seriously kick some major ass. A special thanks to **riotgirl8268**, **A Crazy Girl Of Many Names**, and **Tenten-chan23** for reviewing since chapter 1, and reading my other fic, Renewals. Sarang hae:D I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed, your insightful and encouraging reviews really help to motivate me. If no one reviewed, I'd probably be some sad loser. Thank you, everyone! 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or any other fictional characters…or actual humans, for that matter.**

Chapter Eight: Renounce

"Neji, old boy!" He rolled his eyes as he took a seat next to Naruto. Tenten took a seat on his other seat.

"Hi Naruto." He flashed her a toothy, foxy grin. Tenten kept her blush minimal; no one even noticed it. Which is a good thing. The last thing she needed was everyone thinking she had feelings for the loud blond.

Hinata waved at Tenten. She smiled; they were so cute together. Naruto was eating his sushi happily. Hinata licked her thumb.

"Naruto, you've got a little smudge of wasabi on your cheek."

"Nani! No wonder why I felt something burning my cheek. Get it off, get it off, Hinata." She grabbed his face and rubbed and the smudge on his face. Naruto grinned evilly, rubbing his hands. He grabbed one of Hinata's small hands and kissed it. Hinata's face soon matched her spicy tuna roll.

"Naruto-kun…" She was about to lean closer to him when Neji's cough interrupted her. Neji batted at the annoying little hearts that were floating around his head.

Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "He he he…"

Tenten shook her index finger at them "Not in public, kids." They both shot her death glares.

"Tenten, there's a bit of rice stuck on the corner of your mouth."

"Really? Where? Get it off!" Neji grabbed her chin with his left hand and lifted it up so he could "see more clearly." He gently picked the grains of rice on her face. It was Tenten's turn to blush.

"Neji…" Naruto coughed loudly. Hinata winced; the cough sounded awfully mucusy to her.

Naruto glared at Neji and folded his arms. "Hypocrites." Neji turned away and ignored him, eating his rice. Naruto was about to yell something when his face brightened up.

"Sakura, Sasuke! It's been weeks!"

"Quiet, people are staring." Sakura looked around. Sure enough, all the heads in the restaurant were turned their way. She shook her head in her hands. Why did he always have to do that?

Still, it had been a long time since she had seen him. She couldn't suppress the wide grin on her face. Sakura and Sasuke took a seat next to Hinata, across from Neji, Tenten, and Naruto. She reached over and grabbed one of Naruto's whiskery cheeks. "Oh, my cute little Naruto! I want chicken, I want liver. Meow mix, Meow mix, please deliver!"

Naruto rubbed his sore cheek; he was sure there was a finger-shaped mark on his face. Hinata was trying to stifle her laugh; it came out like a sort of hack-snort. Naruto growled under his breath. He hated it when people sang that stupid cat food commercial song…

"Oh yeah, I forgot! On our last mission, we found the perfect souvenir for you! Sasuke saw it first, and we just knew we had to get it for you!" Naruto's eyes had little pink hearts in them. The last time they got him a souvenir, it was a snow globe with a bowl of ramen in it.

"Close your eyes dobe," Sasuke said flatly. Naruto blew him an air kiss, just to piss him off, and covered his eyes with his hands. Sasuke's face paled, and he looked like he was going to puke. They all roared with laughter; Neji chuckled softly.

"Okay Naruto…SURPRISE!" Naruto felt her slip something onto his head, around his ears. Hinata handed him a mirror. Her cheeks were enormous with air, and her face was turning red from the oxygen loss. Tenten was turned around, laughing. Naruto eyed his former teammates suspiciously and grabbed the mirror from Hinata.

He dropped it. No…this couldn't be. The whole world was turning against him. _"Why, God, why? What did I do to deserve this torture?"_

Hinata burst out in laugher and pressed one of Naruto's kitty ears. A high pitched-chipmunk like voice started singing a very familiar song. Naruto's eyes burned with anger.

"Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow!"

"I want chicken, I want liver, Meow Mix Meow Mix please deliver!"

Naruto was about to pounce on his teammates, who were rubbing their hands evilly, when Hinata's voice halted him.

"I think it's cute…" She shyly played with one of Naruto's ears. He sat back down.

"Fine…"

They looked…well, okay they looked ridiculous. Each leopard print ear was about the size of a tennis ball. There was also a small cat bell attached to the left ear. To boys, he was a truly pathetic sight. Every girl in the restaurant came up to their table and started snapping pictures of him with their handy-dandy cameras…until they heard a scary growling noise coming from the small blue-haired girl next to him.

Neji's eyes were as wide as golf balls. Hinata cleared a throat a little and continued to eat.

Tenten looked at all the faces around her, and lingered on Neji's. His jaw bone moved up and down as he chewed on an unagi roll. She reached under the table for his hand. It was unusually cold, and it felt a little weird. Not like it usually did.

Was she this far gone? Even his touch didn't feel the same way anymore. For all she knew, she could be holding onto a complete stranger's hand—

"…Can whoever's holding my hand please let go?"

Tenten meeped as she let go to Sasuke hands. She wiped her hands onto the sides of her shirt and ducked her head.

It wasn't a complete stranger…but almost.

Neji leaned against the wall while Sakura paced around. She was pacing so much hat her footsteps were causing erosions in the pavement. Oh for goodness sakes, he didn't have all day. He cleared his throat quite loudly.

"Oh…yah. You're probably wondering why I asked to speak with you." He gave her the duh, you idiot look. "Right…um…"

Neji looked at his imaginary clock to rush her.

"I'M SORRY!"

Neji blink. Sakura blinked. Then he blinked again.

"Okay…I'm sorry Neji. I didn't think about how much my silly little words would affect you. I'd take back what is aid if I could." Neji was still lost… "I realize that you haven't been pressuring Tenten lately. You're letting her be free. And while I'm thrilled to see that you're not strangling her…I feel awful."

Neji opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly cut him off. "I don't want to force you to accept this new Tenten if you don't want to. Because that would just be lying to her, you know? So yah…go ahead and strangle her again if that's what you want. I totally disagree with it…but it's not my position to say anything." Sakura did a very Hinata-esque finger twiddling.

Neji waited a few seconds to make sure she was done. He raised his hand. "Uh..yes Neji?" He put his hand down and nodded.

"While I'm glad you understand why I did what I did…I don't care what you said." Sakura dropped onto the floor, cracking it. When she got up, her nose was as flat as a wall.

"W-What?"

"I chose to let go of the old Tenten of my own free will."

"Y-You mean…you really like her?" He thought for a few seconds in thought, then nodded.

"Oh..okay…well, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL EM SOONER! YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS COMMUNICATING WITH YOU! IT'S INTIMIDATING!"

"I tried to tell you…but you just kept talking."

Sakura huffed. "What ever. I'm just glad you're finally learning to love the person inside of her." He nodded. When he got back to their table, everyone was getting ready to leave.

Hinata, Sakura, and Tenten fought over the bill while the guys just looked at them, confused. Why the heck did women always fight for the bill like that? What was the matter with them? Neji patted his heavy pockets and thought, _"Hey, at least I'm not paying."_

Tenten finally wrestled the receipt out of Sakura and Hinata's eagle-lie grasp. "SUCCESS!" Hinata and Sakura pouted. Tenten walked over to Neji and handed them him the bill.

Blink. Blink. "What?"

"Here's the bill."

He narrowed his eyes at the three girls. "Then what was with the wrestling?"

"I insisted that you pay, but Hinata insisted that Naruto pay, but then Sakura insisted that Sasuke pay. And guess what. I won!" Naruto and Sasuke snickered in the background. Naruto kissed his little frog wallet.

"Oh, you're so cute when you're fat!" Sasuke and Hinata took a few slow steps away from him. Why did he always have to talk to his wallet in public?

Tenten waved to everyone and left with Neji. He held her hand as he walked her to her apartments. It was a silent walk. Neji felt Tenten's hands slip out of his. He stared at his empty hand and looked at her, clearly confused.

Tenten scratched her head. "Sorry…it's just…my hand is…getting sweaty. Yes, very sweaty. All gross and nasty."

Neji didn't buy it, but he figured she would tell him when she was ready.

Which she was. "Neji…"

"Hm?"

"I can't do this anymore."

"What?"

"This…it doesn't feel right."

He looked slightly hurt under his usual mask-of-no-emotion. "It's not that I don't like you..." She reached for one of his hands and sandwiched it between hers. "I do. But…who am I? I just don't know. It's always bothering me, Neji. How can _I_ love you if _I_ don't even know who _I_ is?"

He looked at her in the eyes, then pulled his hands away. She felt empty. "I thought we already talked about this."

"I know Neji…but this is a rotten game we play."

"?"

"I know that, deep down inside, you only like me because I'm a memory of someone who used to be."

"Then what about you?"

"I like you...I always have."

"If you like me, why can't I like you?" She didn't quite have an answer. "Maybe I do really like you."

"…I hope you do, Neji. I hope you do..."

"Because I feel so _different._ Like I'm a different person."

Her words swam through his head. _"Like I'm a different person."_ He knew; he had a solution. "It's only you that feels different. I still feel the same."

Tenten nodded; was this the part where he rejected her?

"And that's the problem."

"_Huh?"_

"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye…" She watched him run home. Why did it feel like he was running from _her?_

Hinata grabbed the sharp, steel blades with a quivering hand. "N-neji-nii-san, are you sure?" He nodded. He was sure. He was dead sure! As sure as sure could be! Hinata gulped. She positioned the blades in her hands correctly and aimed for his neck.

The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. The flowers looked perfect. The paperboy didn't break her window like last week with the newspaper. Tenten breathed in the fresh, crisp air. Today was a beautiful day; today seemed like a new day.

…She didn't know just how right she was.

Neji was sitting on his tree stump in their old training grounds, reading a book (and no, it is not orange with a no sign on the back cover, you perverts!). There was something odd about him, and it wasn't the book.

He was wearing a black beanie with a silver Hyuga crest on it, and he had his hair tucked in. It was seventy-six degrees outside with 40 humidity; so why was he wearing a beanie? His head must be sweating profusely. Curiosity got the best of Tenten. She used her newly acquired stealth skills, courtesy of Hyuga Neji, and tiptoed towards him.

Cue: Jaws Theme Song 

Tenten crept around the bushes and pounced on Neji at the last second. She pulled off his beanie, waiting for his long hair to tumble out like a dark, silky curtain…however, it didn't.

Tenten gasped as the beanie slipped out of her hands and onto the grass. If there was one thing Tenten knew, it was that Hyuga men liked their hair. _A lot._ Their whole family looked like a hoard of girls from a distance.

Neji's hair was short (for a visual, look in my profile for a link. I did a brief sketch). _Short. As in, not long._ Tenten found breathing hard; she was sputtering like a fish.

He picked up his beanie and gave her a smile. "You like it?"

I was reading over my notes at the top, and it makes it sound like this is the last chapter. It's not. Sorry if you got confused. Bye, my beautiful, beautiful readers!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, everyone! I noticed that some of you weren't happy with the last chapter. I admit, I was having writer's block, and my finals are still coming up. I guess the pressure kind of got to me, but that's not much of an excuse so yah. I hope this is a better one. Also, some of you….probably want to spear me for cutting his hair. But I didn't just add it in for kicks. It does have a purpose. Well, here it is. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. So does that mean Neji's up for grabs?**

Chapter Nine: Holding On

Tenten was at a loss for words; she couldn't find words to express what she thought of the "new him." Only one word surfaced in her mind: "Why?"

Neji scratched the back of his (short-haired!) head, but in a very dignified manner, of course. "You said it wasn't working out because _you_ felt different."

As the words left his mouth, realization struck Tenten and she felt herself sink into obscurity. It was all _her_ fault. She made him do it. She was changing everything.

"_You_ didn't even recognize yourself," he continued. "So, this way, we're both different. And, I can't recognize myself. So it works out." Neji said all of this as if it were a fact. "We're just two different people…it doesn't have to be NejiTen this, NejiTen that. We can just be two people that…you know…"

"How long have you had your hair that long?"

"…Since it grew that long."

"And you cut it, just 'cause of some stupid thing I said?" He nodded. Tenten's hair covered her eyes; she was looking down. Neji swore he saw a few tears trickle down her face.

"….Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes."

"…"

"I don't want you to change for me, Neji. I've had enough change. I don't need anymore." _"Why can't things stay the same for me, even for a little while?"_ It had taken her weeks to get used to his long hair; now she would have to wait again to get used to his "new" hair. Tenten was getting sick of that word.

"Does it look bad?"

She used is beanie to wipe her nose and handed it to Neji. He sighed and threw it into a trashcan. Her face turned an angry/embarrassed red.

"…No."

"Then?"

"I just don't want you to think that I need you to do these…extreme things for me."

"But you do."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do."

"…Well, it doesn't matter if I do. Because it's my issues; I have to learn to deal with them…by myself."

"No you don't."

"And why is that?"

"Because…you have me."

Tenten's cheeks turned a subtle pink. She nodded and looked away. Granted, he didn't look bad at all. In fact, he looked pretty darn good. Not as good as he did with the long hair she was so accustomed to, but this wasn't so bad. But he looked…unfamiliar. Tenten felt the only familiarity in her life slip through the cracks between her fingertips like water.

"Thank you…"

"Neji!" Hinata laughed as Naruto's chopsticks came out horribly uneven. He stroked his chin in concentration. "Sooooomething seems different about you…" She slapped her forehead with her hand.

"…I've been using a different brand of shampoo, Naruto."

Naruto snapped his fingers. "That must be it. I noticed your hair looked kind of different."

Tenten looked at the clueless blond. He was adorable, but he was just…so darn stupid. _"Your hair looks kind of different."_ Oh, come on. That had to be the understatement of the year. Neji hacked off at least two feet of hair. Somewhere, miles and miles away, a little girl with leukemia named Mae was enjoying a very exquisite, jet-black wig.

Hinata sighed. "Naruto, just eat your ramen."

"Yes ma'am!" He quickly obliged to her demands.

Tenten tousled Neji's hair. She was beginning to get used to it. Then again, when you have no memory, things become pretty familiar to you fast. "…You know, I might have to see your salonist. Look at those layers! I was thinking of getting a trim myself."

Neji tilted his head towards a slightly blushing Hinata. "Hinata, you cut his hair?"

She nodded shyly. "It was…scary. One wrong hack and Neji would have my head." Neji narrowed his eyes at her.

"You act like my hair is some kind of prize."

Hinata stifled her laugh, turning slightly blue. When she had enough oxygen to breathe, she opened her mouth to talk. "The wig maker across the street from here offered you around 81,000 yen for your hair clippings. Too bad you donated it."

Neji felt Tenten poke him in the stomach. "Aww, I didn't know you were such a softy,

Neji." He rolled his pupil-less eyes at her.

"Hair grows."

Tenten played around with those words in her head. For some reason, it was the most meaningful thing she had ever heard in her (short) life.

"Hair grows…" 

"Where are we?"

"The top of the Hokage Monument."

"Oh, the mountain with the faces on it! Wow…we're really high up." Neji nodded as he took a seat on the edge of the cliff. Tenten did likewise, swinging her free legs over the edge side-to-side.

"Do you think a fall from this high would kill you?" She had no idea what had possessed her to ask him that.

"…Yes. It would." Tenten nodded.

"So tell me about you guys."

"Who?"

"You and…the old me." Neji shifted uncomfortably.

"Like…what?"

"How did you feel about her…I mean, me?"

"A lot of things. We were best friends, teammates, and…yah. You know…"

"Yah. But what about now?"

"We're still…you know."

"But what about teammates or best friends? Are we still that?"

Neji felt sirens blaring in his head. Every single one of his impulses told him to jump off the cliff; at least then he wouldn't have to answer.

"…Well, we've only known each other for a month or so."

"Oh." Her voice sounded deflated and empty. Like her insides.

"We're still…"

"But, why can't we be everything else?…"

Neji turned to look at her. There was something in her eyes he couldn't name; something searching, waiting, _dying_ inside them.

"I want us to be all of that. Best friends and everything, just like we used to. I want us to go back. To be…_normal_ again." Relationships were always nice…but she wanted something deeper. She wanted to soak in everything about him.

Neji searched for the right thing to say to her. He knew she wasn't completely emotionally stable. With luck, he would say something smart, and she would drop the whole matter…

…then again, luck was never on Hyuga Neji's side. "If there was a way we could, I'd do it, Tenten. But I'm out of ideas."

"Maybe…" The rest of her sentence was too quiet to hear. "No…never mind."

"What?"

"We could just…pretend. We could fool ourselves into believing that I never even lost my memory. Yeah?…" Tenten pressed the lump behind Neji's shirt. She always wondered what that was. She carefully pulled away his shirt's collar, revealing a thin, silver chain. She tugged onto the chain until it came out of his shirt.

"What's this? Why do you always keep it hidden there?" She pulled all of it out, revealing a battered old shuriken that hung on the end. "Ow, doesn't this make cuts around your stomach?"

"No. The edges are too dull."

Tenten's eyes became glassy, in a trance-like state. She distantly rotated the shuriken around in her fingers, tracing the edges.

Neji's eyes widened a little as a line of blood started pouring out of a cut made by one of the edges of the shuriken, streaming down her arm. "Apparently it's not as dull as I thought. That's odd. It never cut me before."

She never heard what he said after the shuriken penetrated her skin, digging into it.

She felt that familiar electric jolt pulse through her fingers, only this time it had increased significantly. She felt faint, like any minute now her limbs would simple tumble from her body, leaving her in a disoriented heap. Tenten stood up, grabbing her head with her quaking hands on her temples.

Neji stood beside her, apparently saying something. His words echoed around her, dissolving in the force field that had formed around her head. Tenten's body starting trembling, and she was breaking out into a cold sweat.

Her body went limp into Neji's arms. He dabbed at the sweat beads that had collected on her forehead. What was happening?

"_Neji!"_

_It was too late. At least a thousand shurikens exploded out of the trick shuriken that Neji had deflected with his kunai. He fought off most of them with another kunai, but a dozen or so made it past his defense. There was just too many._

_Neji grunted a little as he pulled the shurikens from his body. Tenten took that as her cue. She reached into her bag and got her scroll. Without a second to spare, she quickly brought out her kodachi and sliced the enemy to lifeless ribbons. The fell to the ground; they were dead before they even knew it._

_The enemy's warm blood seeped through her clothes, clinging to her skin. She felt nausea creeping into her, but she shook it off. Tenten quickly ran to Neji._

_There were a few nicks and grazes around him, but he suffered no major injuries. Tenten rubbed some of the ointment he always kept handy into his wounds. "Neji, you missed one." Tenten laughed as she looked at the shuriken that was embedded halfway into his back. It was in deep._

_Tenten gingerly placed her fingers around the shuriken and tried to yank it out. The blood that stained her fingers slippery; they slid right over the shuriken. A trail of rain trickled down her arm, falling to the ground, drop by drop._

_They were still genin. _There was an internal struggle within Tenten; she clung onto the precious memory like a hawk. It tried to slip through her fingers. Tenten strengthened her firm grasp.

"_I can't let go…this is all I have."_

Tenten could feel herself drowning in perspiration. It was taking too much effort to hold onto it.

Neji felt Tenten's cold sweat soaking his clothes. Tenten fell from his arms and huddled in a ball on the floor. Her eyes were open, but they looked empty.

Neji's face after she had cut herself; so caring and concerned. The edges of the mental image were starting to fade away. No…she had to hold on. She needed help.

"Neji! Neji!" He heard her cry out to him. Her arms reached up to him; he took them in his hands and lifted her up. She was shivering violently. He was about to conclude that she was unconscious when her words reached out to him.

"Neji! Neji, I see it! It's going away. Help." Her words made absolutely no sense to him, but he ran his hands up and down her back, trying to calm her down. She was probably delirious from the heat.

Tenten kicked and clawed and ran inside her head. She struggled to keep the memory alive in her; she replayed it once, then twice, ten times more times, hundreds of times, then thousands. Exhaustion took its toll on her and she fell. As her eyelids drooped over her glossy eyes, the last thing she saw was his face, from so many years ago.

"Everything's…blurry." 

As Tenten collapsed, one of her arms hit Neji across the face. The shock caused him to momentarily let go of her. He instantly regretted it.

Falling. Falling fast. The adrenaline must have kicked in; Tenten was suddenly wide-awake. She no longer felt exhausted just scared. She could feel the wind slip through her strands of hair, unwinding her buns. Her hair fluttered upwards as the winds cut through her eyes. She squinted. _"I'm going to die."_ She said as more of a fact than a realization.

She saw a ledge a few meters down. Using what physical strength she could gather, Tenten twisted her body horizontally until she was spinning through the air, pushing against the currents. She reached out a hand and grabbed onto the ledge. Tenten looked down. She was still high enough to go splat. Tenten saw Neji jumping down the cliffs to get to her. She hoped he got to her in time; her sweaty palms couldn't hold on forever.

Tenten could feel her fingers trembling, slowly inching from the cliff. For the second time in her life, Tenten grabbed onto a ledge, holding onto it for dear life.

And that was when it hit her…_for the second time in her life…_

She remembered.


	10. Chapter 10

I know you're all glad she remembers…so, I think this will be a pretty interesting chapter. My finals are in like two days, so I Won't be updating after this for about…two days or so. Well…here it is!

**Disclaimer: I don't own naruto…etc.**

Chapter Ten: Yield andGrasp

"_Does everyone know the plan?" Tenten momentarily allowed her to lose herself in his pearly white eyes that shined in the darkness._

"_Hai." Neji nodded._

"_Be as cautious as you can; our objective is to get out for here without being detected. If the enemy figures out we're here infiltrating, they'll outnumber us a thousand to one. If you encounter someone…kill them immediately. Don't give them time to scream."_

_Tenten nodded as she put all her loose, noisy articles into a safe, secure bag. _

"_Okay. Split. If you're not at the rendezvous point in two hours, we'll come looking for you."_

_Tenten shook her head. "If I'm not there, just go without me. I'll find a way back." Lee and Neji seemed to ignore her; that idea was out of the question._

_They all headed different directions. Neji went to the left, Lee went straight ahead and Tenten took the right path…_

…_Nope. She took the wrong path. Tenten cursed under her breath. She could hear faint foot steps in the distance; she was being followed. Tenten took a detour to try and shake the follower off of her trail. No matter how fast she ran, or how many turns she took, she couldn't get rid of her pursuer. He was hot on her trail._

"_Kuso…"_

_Tenten resorted to plan B. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her trusty scroll. She bit her thumb and pressed it against an image of what appeared to be a black sky._

_She could hear the sound of metal coursing through the air. The sky bled black as one million kunais rained down from heaven. Tenten felt drained of any and all chakra, but she kept going. She had to use her this obstacle to her advantage._

"_My my my, that was quite a trick. Maybe you can teach me sometime."_

"_Damn."_

_Tenten turned on her heel. She was face to face with a man that had short, white hair. His whole body was covered in kunais, like a bloody porcupine. There was a slight limp in his step as she wriggled over to Tenten._

"_That hurt…"_

"_Good." She smacked him in the face with her fist, sending him down like a ton of bricks. He got right back up and continued walking towards he. Like the living dad, he just kept getting back up every time she brought him down. Tenten muttered under her breath; why did she always get the weird ones?_

_The rain-nin pulled the kunais out of his skin. Blood trailed out of every hole in his body. The punctures in his skin made him look raw and gruesome._

"_That wasn't very nice little girl. Once the village wakes up, I'm sure we think of a nice punishment for you and the rest of your annoying little friends."_

_The white of her eyes glowed under the moonlight. She kicked him in the side and ran as fast as she could. The rain-nin smirked as she chased her. He caught up with her, grabbed her arm, and in one swift movement, twisted it behind her. Her bones snapped like a twig. _

_Tenten screamed inside. She bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood stained her mouth. The pain shot through her arm like a bullet. She tried to pull out of his clutch, twisting around furiously. She head-butted him in the nose. She could feel his blood dribble onto her head._

_He kicked Tenten in the head, sending her reeling back towards a cliff. She slid over the edge, inches from falling off._

_He frowned. "You're a persistent little kunoichi."_

"_Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water type: water dragon blast technique)."_

_Tenten got up and looked around her. To her dismay, she could feel the faint trickling of a river below the steep cliff. Tenten ran from the edge of the cliff as fast as she could, pumping chakra into it. But it was too slow._

The aqueous dragon shot her back with such force that she flew over the cliff. Tenten reached out instinctively and grabbed for the edge. He walked up to the edge with a smug grin on his face. He brought his leg up and was seconds away from bringing it down on her hands.

_Tenten had two seconds to weigh her options. One, she could let him stamp on her feet and swim away with the river's current. But that was dumb. He would run back to the village and inform them that Konoha ninjas were there; it could endanger Lee and Neji. So she went with option two._

_Tenten let go of the ledge and pushed off with her feet. The rain-nin gave her a confused look as she quickly reached into her pack and brought out a Fuuma shuriken. She hurled it with all of her might; both of her arms were now dead and useless. The shuriken hummed through the air at an impossible speed. He was sliced in half before he had time to scream._

_And this was the part Tenten was afraid of. It had taken too much time to kill him; she was falling towards the river, and fast. Would she live to get married have children, or even see his face again? Would she live to see the people around her grow old with her, reveling in the memories that were sure to come? She really didn't know…and it scared her._

_The last thing she saw before her head rear-ended into a boulder in the river was Neji, his curse seal glowing in the darkness around him. Her life flashed before her eyes in a blur too fast to comprehend. She was going to die. The world turned black as Tenten hit the rock. The river carried her body down stream like a lifeless doll._

_The river dumped her lifeless body onto its muddy banks. Lee was at the top of the cliff, running too fast to notice the speck in the water that was Tenten._

_That night, Tenten died. _

_Her memories ceased to exist._

It all hit her in the back of her head like a big, heavy iron hammer. Tenten's head throbbed from the pressure; her head felt heavy and dizzy. There was too much inside of her crammed skull. Her long-lost memories flooded into her head, colliding with the new ones. The newly-made memories entwined with her old emotions, her old feelings, her old _self, _to make room inside her too-full head. Tenten remembered she was stil hanging dangerously on a ledge, and held on tight. She would wait for Neji. She would allow him to save her, but just this once.

Tears collected in her eyes, obscuring her vision. She had been waiting for this. All of the times she felt frustrated, all of the times she felt useless and empty, she remembered. Tenten could see the way he looked at her, and feel the feeling that consumed her whenever he touched her; everything. Neji, her best friend, her teammate, her love. She was her old self again; no, she was so much more.

The old Tenten entangled with the new one as the two sets of memories weaved together to form a single net. She wasn't the new Tenten, the old Tenten, or any other kind of Tenten. She was simply Tenten; a girl who had been born twice.

She didn't notice him standing above her, intertwining his fingers in hers, hoisting her up. His touch was like static, bringing her to the surface again. He brushed the damp strands of hair that fell in her eyes so tenderly and carefully that it surprised her. Her head swimmed as his skin made contact with hers.

It was both familiar and new. It held so many things; his touch. It spread like a disease through her. As Tenten sat on the ledge, she jumped into his arms; his hug felt new. Neji was confused and lost, but he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her gently. There was something going on inside that he couldn't see, but he was too tired to do anything but hold her.

Tenten leaned forward and kissed him. She was kissing him for the first time; it was the first time just plain Tenten (not old, not new) had kissed him. And nothing beats a first kiss…

For the first time in months, she felt the homesick emotions pouring into her emptied out insides, coming from his soft lips. Tenten broke away softly and pressed her left hand against his chest. She felt the four bumpy corners of a shuriken and pulled it out. As she rotated it around in her right hand, her left still rested on the same spot where it had been; right over his heart. She could feel it beating underneath the many layers.

Tenten leaned into him, exhaustion taking its toll on her. She wanted to kiss him, hug him, touch him, look at him, and everything. But for now, she felt contentment, leaning her back against his chest, running her fingers over the battered old memento.

Because after all, it all started with a shuriken…

That's all for now. Hope that answers a few questions, but there's not much dialogue in here. I'm guessing there will be one last chapter after this. Thanks for reviewing, guys!

Bah-dee-bah-dee-bah-that's all folks!


	11. Chapter 11

Ahh! I'm only 5 reviews away from my goal of 100 reviews. You see all those _crazy_ stories out there with a billion reviews or so, and it motivates you, no? So if I could just get a 100…well, that's like one small step, right? Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really made me come up with chapters faster. Sadly, this is the last chapter. I'm very thrilled you all enjoyed it, from what I can tell from your reviews. So many of you are such nice people, and I never got flamed (Yet D8) all of your reviews have been encouraging, especially the ones with constructive criticism. Thanks again, everybody! I hope this meets your standards.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto D8 

Chapter Eleven: Somewhere I Belong

Tenten spooned at the vomit-like consistency of the broth the crazy hospital people expected her to eat.

She was too full. And she was seconds away from overflowing.

He entered the small, dimly lit hospital room with a glass of water. Tenten winced at how cold the water felt in her hot, lumpy throat. She swallowed down the water with some difficulty.

"Doctor says you were probably just exhausted from over-exposure to the heat. You'll be fine by tomorrow." Tenten shook her head.

"I'm not sick." Neji ignored her as he tried, without success, to shove the disgusting broth into her clenched teeth. She couldn't help but feel defeated.

This was what they both wanted to desperately, and now that they had it, he didn't even believe her. He wouldn't even _listen_ to her. Didn't he see that it was slowly cutting at her, killing her?

"Neji. I told you…I'm…me. I re-" He silenced her. He then moved closer to her until they were only centimeters away.

"You said before you passed out that you wanted to pretend to be the old Tenten. You don't have to lie to me; I still like you just the way you are." The tears that stung her eyes tasted salty as the tears seeped into the shaky corners of her mouth.

"_You don't even realize it. I tried so hard, Neji. And you don't even care. How could you forget me?"_ Tenten felt a bitterness inside her mouth that she couldn't wash away with her glass of water. Would he really give up on her that easily? Saying she felt sad was an understatement; Tenten sat in the corners of Rock Bottom.

Tenten turned away laid down on her bed, trying to sleep. Neji sat down on a chair besides her and looked at her 'sleeping' figure.

…Could it really be her? Was she really herself again? _"No…you said you wouldn't think about her anymore. She's not coming back. Don't ruin both your lives over something that happened so long ago."_ Neji laid his chin is his head. The bags under his eyes were purple and wrinkly.

Sitting here, next to Tenten with her back to him, Neji could almost feel like it was really her. He almost fooled himself.

Sakura had Tenten sit up on the bed as she did a few examinations. She pried open her tired eyes, examining them closely. "Is something wrong with my eyes?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're perfectly fine, minus a few cuts and scrapes. It's just…it's good to have you back…Tenten." The hint in her voice when she said her name was unmistakable.

"Sakura…how?"

"Oh come on, you can see it in your eyes; they're like a mix between a newborn and a wise old woman."

Sakura cursed under her breath as a few tears slithered down the crook of Tenten's nose. Why was she always saying the wrong things? "Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry, Tenten." Tenten shook her head vigorously. More tears spilled out of her glassy eyes, soaking the hospital scrub at her knees.

"He doesn't know Sakura. He's been by my bedside for days, and you can just tell right away. He can't tell Sakura. He doesn't know what he put me through. All those times, when the 'new' me could tell he missed the 'old' me, I could feel it somewhere inside. But know I think he really doesn't miss me at all."

Sakura gathered Tenten in her arms in a motherly way and rocked the unstable girl. "Oh Tenten…that's not it at all. It's my fault." Sakura waited for her to protest, but she couldn't speak yet; she was shaking with tears. "He…I told him to let go of you. It wasn't right. What he was doing wasn't right either, but that doesn't make what I said any better. He never forgot you, Tenten. And I can tell you, he never will."

Tenten inhaled deeply several times until she was sure she could talk. Her voice sounded weak and hoarse. "Sakura…how can I convince him? It really is me…you believe me right?"

"Of course I do. And…you shouldn't have to convince him. In fact, I'm sure he already knows…we'll just give him the shove he needs."

Tenten searched through her brain, looking for something; something that had been forgotten. It had to be something that he would remember…

Tenten was lying in the grass with her hands beneath her head, humming a song.

_I'm going back to where you said  
Tears disappear to whenever they're shed  
Somewhere I would find you when I fell apart  
Recollecting the pieces seeping out of my heart  
I lost myself to the hollows in the center  
Sing me the requiems of uncertain lamenters  
I'm only halfway in the grave, but you're already burying me  
Don't forget; I'll linger on you 'til my mind's set free_

Tenten could hear the grass crunch under the weight of someone's footsteps.

Neji scratched at his head. He heard that song somewhere…

He saw her, lying in the grass with the same distant expression, the same hat. _"No…it can't be. It must be a"_

"Coincidence? Yah, that's what I was thinking too."

"…Why didn't you show up?"

"Because."

"…" This was starting to creep him out.

She jumped to her feet and puffed up angrily. "Fine! I didn't come because I didn't feel like it! I'm not having a good ha-I mean, I'm just not having a good day! Okay?" Tenten made sure to follow the script very closely. She had to get every detail right, down to the smallest gestures or blinks.

Neji was tired. He decided to just play along with the unwritten script. "The hat?"

"What? Now I can't wear hats anymore?" Neji noted that her voice wasn't the frantic, rushed voice it was back then. It was a more knowing, teasing voice.

Neji walked over and pulled the baseball cap off. Her long brown hair tumbled down to her shoulders, and kept falling, until it was halfway down her back. Her hair fluttered gracefully in the light breeze. She looked beautiful; more beautiful then she did two years ago.

"…Tenten?"

His voice was a mix of a question and a statement. It was more to himself than to her. The way it sounded in his mouth made a whole world of difference. It contained disbelief, grief, exhaustion, eagerness, a hint of hopefulness, and a dash of affection, all whirled together into two syllables that swirled into her ears.

The usual fragile note that he used to say her name was gone. Tenten walked over to him carefully, and answered his question without words.

She placed on hand on his shoulder and used it to raise herself on her toes. Tenten reached up and, ever so softly, brushed her lips against his cheek. She tried to run away, but his arm was latched onto her wrist.

"Do you believe me now? Or am I going to have to actually run all the way down that street?"

He just stared at her with a pained look in his face. His face was twisted up in an effort not to shed tears. But more than anything, he looked tired. She couldn't really blame him, she supposed. Tenten had to look away; that look of his was breaking her apart.

"I just don't know anything anymore, Tenten."

"Did you give up that I would ever remember?" He hesitated for a while, but shook his head firmly.

"I thought I owed it to you, in the least, to look after you until you came back. In the back of my head, there was always a small voice telling me to wait for you. And I never bothered to correct it."

He wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her closer. She let herself get dragged to him and closed the gap between them. Tenten kissed him, with one hand in his now short hair, and the over pressed against his chest, where four pointy bumps pricked at her fingers.

"And here I am."

"And here you are."

"Do you still want to forget…this whole thing happened? Do you want to just live like we always did?"

He felt her head shake side to side. "I'll never forget things anymore. Because everything's important."

Tenten was on the floor with her limbs sprawled all over. Her head was propped against the couch lifelessly. Her hair was splayed all over the floor. Her hands were empty and cold. A little three-year-old girl with brown hair and lovely pale, copper eyes was braiding her hair.

Neji turned the key to his house and entered. The first thing he saw was Tenten, on the floor. From the looks of it, she had passed out, hitting her head on the floor. No…not again…panic raced through his head. Neji walked over to the small girl and picked her up.

"Mommy's sleeping."

He walked over to where she lay; she looked dead.

"What happened?"

"She fell-ed."

He set the girl down and grabbed Tenten by the shoulders, shaking her. Tenten's limp body lolled like a doll's as her eyelashes fluttered while she opened her eyes. They looked innocent and empty. "W-Who are you? Who am I? Where am I?"

Neji's nightmares resurfaced. The corners of his mouth were slowly dropping downwards; Sakura had warned him that is she ever fell or hit her head again, there was a very high possibility that she would lose her memory again. So why was he so unprepared for it?

Tenten couldn't take it; she cracked. Her wide, toothy grin spread across her face, stretching from ear to ear. The look on his face was too sad for her to bear. Her laughs snapped Neji out of his reverie. He huffed and turned away from her. Tenten walked over, still giggling like a little girl, and rubbed his shoulders.

"Ah, come on Neji. I was just kidding." She poked him in the side with her finger playfully.

He shrugged her hands off of him. "It's not funny, Tenten." He was obviously very hurt and upset. "I lost you once; I can't again. Don't…scare me. Not like that, ever again. Do you understand?" Tenten's face softened a little. When he used his dictator voice, she knew she was in trouble.

She walked up behind him and hugged him, pressing the side of her face against his back. Her hands joined against his toned stomach. His stern, cross-armed posture eventually relaxed a little as one of his hands gently held onto both of her small hands. "Come on, Neji. We can't fight; not in front of the kid. We don't want her to become those freaky kids who are scarred over painful parental memories, like this one kid I used to know; think his name was Hyuga Neji." The little girl was playing with a kunai and jabbing things with it, humming innocently.

"Besides…it'll take a lot more than a little fall to conquer Tenten's fortress of memory!"

Tenten breathed in the silence around them. "I won't let go of you so easily, Hyuga Neji. Know that…"

He turned around so that they were facing each other, hugging. Her head landed softly against his chest; his chin rested on the top of her head. He had one arm around her shoulders and one around her waist.

He scoffed. "Better not."

Thanks for reading this, you guys rock! Help me reach my goal of 100 reviews, please! xD Be on the lookout for my next story in a few days! Probably have it up tomorrow, or the day after that, or so on. Just check! Sayonara!


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